Why Us?
by Eveilae
Summary: Aldrea and Tobias are different from everyone else, even wizards. ::Attempted rape::
1. Chapter 1

The train ride hadn't been as bad as Aldrea had thought it would be. It was actually fun. But with Tobias for company, it wasn't the best trip. Tobias was the most pessimistic person she knew. Unfortunately Tobias was her brother.  
  
Tobias hadn't enjoyed the ride. It had been boring, plus, though he wasn't thinking of telling anyone, he had a terrible fear of trains.  
  
When they finally arrived, Tobias wasn't worried, like most first years were. He wasn't nervous or wishing he was back home. He DEFINITELY wasn't wishing he were home. Aunt Jane was last person he wanted to see. He felt saddened that he had finally given in and called Aunt Jane's house his home.  
  
Aldrea and Tobias had both lost their parents and (as Aunt Jane always told them) she was told to stay with them because she was their mother's sister. She had one photo of their parents, which Tobias had stolen from her long ago. Their mother looked nothing like Aunt Jane. He wondered if Aunt Jane was lying. Well, he definitely wouldn't put it past her.  
  
He ran his hand through his newly dyed neon blue hair. He had done it mostly to annoy Aunt Jane. He and his sister hated Aunt Jane quite passionately. They were always doing things to make her angry. And she usually got angry quickly, which made it almost a sport for the two of them.  
  
And now Aldrea and him had made it away from Aunt Jane for about 10 months. This was like a dream come true. He was in heaven. Unless Hogwarts turned out to be worse than Aunt Jane's house was, which would be very, very pathetic.  
  
Aldrea was ready to start. This could help Tobias and her. If she did well on her studies and got herself a proper job, they could move out and only see Jane for two and a half months every year. Which was bad enough.  
  
Aldrea was talking to two other girls nearby. One had her light brown hair down her back in a long braid. Her bright green eyes were wide with excitement. Every time she smiled or laughed (which was quite often) her dark blue braces showed. Her face was on the round side, and she was slightly pudgy. When she talked, she motioned with her hands a lot.  
  
The other girl looked like a stuck up, tight ass prick with no sense of fun. Definitely not Tobias's type, nor what he HAD thought was Aldrea's type. Her almost white blonde hair was loose and ran down her back and chest like a river, a cascade of tresses. Tobias thought her eyes were bright blue. That is, until her head turned and he saw the other eye are a dark green. You could tell she was uncomfortable in this place. Maybe since half the guys were staring at her and she didn't like attention. That didn't seem to be it, though.  
  
Her only apparent imperfection was her right hand, in which her pinky and right finger were missing. Tobias wondered how she had lost those fingers. He longed to ask her but decided against the rash act.  
  
Te Sorting began. The first years were brought into the Great Hall, and had their first looks at all the students. Tobias's eyebrows rose as he noticed the ceiling. "Whoa, cool." he muttered. They all stared at a hat, which was laid down on a three-legged stool. They all jumped in surprise and amazement when the hat began to sing.  
  
"I may seem so very ragged, And not in best condition. But I will sort you into Your house of recommendation. There are three houses to choose from All are good and well. But only one will suit you So let me go on and tell You of Gyrffinder, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. First I'll speak of Ravenclaw Minds as sharp as a pin Will you need to be of Ravenclaw? Hufflepuff is always fair, Choosing those of best benevolence. Those who cannot help but care. If of Slytherin you are You must be as clever and as sly As old Slytherin himself Gryffinders will stand until they die Bravery being their greatest virtue. I was made to put you into your place To tell you where you do belong. So come up and do not pace, For I, the Sorting Hat, has never failed As of yet."  
  
A great applause followed the hat's song. Tobias couldn't help but wonder what house he would be placed in. They all were lined up, waiting for their names to be called. After a few names, Aldrea was called.  
  
"Chant, Aldrea!"  
  
The large pointed hat had yelled out other's houses, although he never said anything else out loud. As she came closer to it, her heart thumped harder than ever. What if the hat saw something in her head? Something that wasn't allowed? She knew Tobias would come with her if she was sent away, but she still dreaded the thought. When she got there, she sat down on the stool while the hat was placed on her head. She saw pretty little, the hat blocking much of her view of the room. That fact displeased her slightly, for she had wanted to look at the faces of the others, wondering about their thoughts.  
  
"Hmm." said a voice inside her head. "Interesting. I see much cleverness. You struggle for freedom. You like freedom. Especially from your aunt.  
  
"Quite a lot of pride. Oh my, anger and sadness is a great part of your too. An ache for friendship. Bravery. Oh, where to place you?  
  
"Ravenclaw or Gryffinder. That much is obvious. But which one?"  
  
"Of all I've heard, Gryffinder has won my favor over Ravenclaw, thought they are both quite nice," Aldrea answered politely.  
  
"Hmmm.Then I suppose its GRYFFINDER!" The hat was then ripped from her head and, among the clapping there were several boos.  
  
"Chant, Tobias!"  
  
As Tobias walked up to the stool, he heard people whispering about him. Mostly his hair. It was probably supposed to faze him. But it didn't. He enjoyed the fact that they wasted their time trying to insult him. He smiled to himself.  
  
The hat was placed on his head, but Tobias felt cheated of quite a sight. "Anger is great in you, just like your sister. But more from you. She's much calmer, I must note. Not as much cleverness, but possibly more determination than pride. And bravery. It must run in the family. But you do work best with your sister. Then GRYFFINDER! it is."  
  
The clapping and the booing began again. Tobias ignored it completely and got up got up to sit across from Aldrea. After some more people came another pair of siblings.  
  
"Jordan, Lee!"  
  
After a while it said Gryffinder for him. Aldrea whispered to a girl next to her (a girl named Hannah Freeman or something of the sort) that he was pretty cute. He was blonde with nice blue eyes. Hannah nodded and giggled slightly, as if not used to talking like that. Neither was Aldrea, but the girl didn't need to know that.  
  
Then came his sister. She caught Tobias's attention. Her eyes were bright blue as she sat down. She was also called to sit with the Gryffinders. As she walked over he looked at her eyes again, hoping to catch a glimpse of those amazingly blue eyes.  
  
But strangely, now they were green. He did notice her staring at him as she sat down. She slid into the seat next to Hannah and looked down at the table.  
  
The girl with the braid that Aldrea had talked to was called up.  
  
"Nolipo, Bonnie." After what seemed like a long time, the hat called out RAVENCLAW. Aldrea was disappointed but didn't let it spoil her mood.  
  
"Wesley, Fred." A boy from the line went up, his face as red as his fiery red hair. He was sorted into Gryffinder, as was his twin brother, George. They stared at Tobias for a while as they passed him. Fred grinned and George gave him a wink. Tobias couldn't help but laugh and shake his head.  
  
"Vananse, Isobella"  
  
Aldrea's blonde friend was sorted into Slytherin but Aldrea was determined not to lose her first friends. As Isobella was one of the last ones, Prof. Dumbledore stood and made his announcements. Both Aldrea and Tobias felt strange. Tobias was probably feeling as airhead-y has he had ever felt in his life, including when he had met Jamey.  
  
Jamey was Tobias's best friend. Back home, there was no one like him. He liked to do what HE felt like doing, not what the world asked of him. When Jamey had come to Hadren (Tobias and Aldrea's town), no one had even thought Tobias would ever be anything but an angel. Tobias had been six and was what most grown ups thought were the models of the kids they always wanted. He wasn't very loud, not very pushy or bossy. He on the quiet side and liked the time he spent alone or with his sister better than anything else.  
  
But then Jamey came.  
  
Jamey was all Tobias wasn't. That was why the teacher sent Jamey to sit with Tobias and a few other boys that mostly talked to themselves, that first day of second grade. That was why the teachers told Tobias to show Jamey what he needed to be showed. Jamey was a bad egg. No one said it out loud, of coarse, but everyone knew it. That was why Tobias liked and admired him. So, because of that Jamey showed TOBIAS everything.  
  
Soon Tobias was much louder and much, well, Jamey-er. They were inseparable. The teachers soon regretted their thoughts of Tobias getting Jamey to change. Soon, that quiet and soft-spoken Tobias disappeared almost completely. Tobias and Jamey were not to be crossed with. That was all the kids said. Jamey and Tobias weren't bullies but they wouldn't let anybody boss them around. And hardly ever picked up a book.  
  
Tobias and Aldrea were still close, and maybe became closer. Jamey and Aldrea were okay friends, but nothing much more than that. Or so Aldrea and Tobias had thought.  
  
Tobias smiled slightly, remembering the day before, when Jamey had come over to say good-bye to them both. Jamey was a Muggle, but Tobias hadn't even THOUGHT about not telling him about Aldrea and his letter. Jamey took it pretty well, for someone who had scientists for parents. But Jamey came to see them off, and Aldrea got the surprise of her life.  
  
Tobias was glad to be away from Aunt Jane but he missed Jamey's comments about everything and his lists. Jamey had lists about everything, from 'Things I hate (but shouldn't)' to 'Things that are orange but should another color'.  
  
Aldrea was a bit nervous, now that she a chance to look around. Everyone seemed much like the people in her Muggle school. And she hated the people in her Muggle school. She had had no close friends and at most, her closest friend was Tobias and possibly his proud (and at times quite annoying) BFF, Jamey Margon.  
  
At remembering Jamey, Aldrea though back to the day before, just as Tobias had. Jamey had dropped the bomb about his feelings when he was about to leave. She replayed the conversation.  
  
Jamey had nodded about something. "Yeah, I guess, Tobs." He had seemed really quiet for his usual self. Aldrea had barely noticed, fluttering about like she was. But after a while Aldrea DID notice.  
  
"Ok, Jamey. Something's wrong. Tell me. Please?" Aldrea asked. She added the please teasingly. When she had first met Jamey he had told her 'I don't answer what I don't want to, even if you say pretty please with a cherry on top.' Her seven-year-old had laughed and Jamey as a second grader had looked pleased with himself. But that was then, this was now.  
  
Jamey had looked down that the floor. Had someone taken over Jamey's body? He had been starting to scare Aldrea. "Nothing," he replied. "I just have to leave. I better leave now. Uh.bye?"  
  
Tobias frowned, suspicious. Something was up. Way, way up.  
  
But Aldrea just smiled, finding another chance to tease Jamey. "So, you're going to miss me so much that you can't even give us a nice good- bye?" She gave an evil cackle. "Hmm?"  
  
Possessed by some weird hyena spirit, or maybe an alien from some far away planet, Jamey v.2 took her chin in his hand and pulled her toward him. He quickly gave her a full-length kiss on the mouth. It lasted a few seconds before Jamey broke away and ran out of the house like there was wolf after him. That probably supported the possession theory.  
  
Aldrea had just stared after him, her mouth open slightly and her eyes wide and surprise. She touched her lips softly. For a first kiss, that hadn't been bad. Then she turned to Tobias. "Did you KNOW he liked me?"  
  
Tobias had just shaken his head. "I had no idea."  
  
Aldrea's thoughts faced back to reality, realizing that though she wanted to believe he ihad/i been possessed, she knew that that wasn't the answer. There was only one real answer. He must like her. A lot. She didn't even want to THINK about the L-word. It was too much for the moment. Anyway, who the heck loved at 11?  
  
He was cute. His hair, the color of a crow's feathers, went well with his fair skin. Very well. He usually had some hair that had fallen into his eyes. His nice, jet black eyes with those lashes-  
  
No, she thought suddenly, II won't start daydreaming about guys. Especially a guy that I've known since second grade! Especially since I shouldn't be liking guys yet! I'm not supposed to hit puberty for a year or so!/I  
  
By that time the food had come, and Aldrea and Tobias preoccupied themselves with eating and watching the people around them. Tobias found very little of them any importance, except perhaps that Jordan girl. Rilee. And maybe those twins. But not really. Rilee was a touch more intriguing. She was quiet but he had a feeling that when provoked she would jump all over you. Her brother, on the other hand, was flirting with at least three girls, using his looks to keep them coming.  
  
Aldrea saw that most people there knew at least one person, even the first years. Only a few of them (including Aldrea and Tobias) were talking to no one much. Aldrea had found Hannah a little too.smart. Aldrea had always gotten good grades (and was quite used to not getting praise) but she had never used it in such a way. She was pretty much just plain showing off.  
  
At least Tobias and Aldrea agreed on one question. When was going to be over?  
  
Soon the prefects led them to their Common Rooms and dorms. Aldrea found she was sharing a room with Rilee, Hannah, and two other girls. As Aldrea unpacked she found an envelope on the bottom on her trunk. On it was written:  
  
To Aldrea (I don't think I need to write who I am. Do I?)  
  
At first she dared herself to think that it was from Jamey. But then she inwardly cursed herself. How could he? He wouldn't have been able to touch her trunk. He could have gotten Tobias to do it, but she doubted it.  
  
She slowly opened it, wondering how it was from. Inside the note read:  
'Dear Aldrea,  
  
Can you come down with me to the place where you can send letters? You  
know, the owl place? Thanks.  
  
-Tobias  
  
She sighed. What had she expected? Jamey was never much of a person for expressing feelings. Except anger. He always liked to tell people the newest thing that pissed him off. Aldrea almost laughed out loud at the memory.  
  
Any other feelings? Forget it. Aldrea had tried to comfort him when his dog had died. That had maybe been the hardest thing she had ever done in her life. He would only look at the floor, never at her at all, much less at her face. All the time she had been talking, saying almost anything, just trying to get him to respond. After a while he left, of coarse and she felt like she had failed him. IBut obviously not since he likes you enough to kiss you in front of his best friend/I, she thought suddenly.  
  
She shook her head. "Stop thinking about him all the time. Just stop."  
  
She looked over at the other girls, wishing she could feel like one of them. Feel like the witch she was supposed to be. That is, until she saw Rilee. Rilee didn't look much better than she did herself. She looked angry and preoccupied. She didn't look like she belonged much either. At least not now. Aldrea sighed, thinking, Ijust watch her turn into a talking machine when she gets around people/I.  
  
Suddenly all she wanted was someone to wrap someone's arms around her. To make her feel safe. And it didn't take her much thought to figure out whom she wanted to hold her. But she knew that wasn't possible. But that didn't make her want it any less.  
  
Tobias wasn't much better. He was sharing a room with Lee, and three other guys. Mostly good-looking guys. Or at least guys that Ithought/i they were good-looking.  
  
Lee was acting totally, well, nice. Unlike his way of being in front of the female audience.  
  
The other three guys seemed to be good friends with each other and left Tobias and Lee alone. So, was it very surprising to find Lee sitting on Tobias bed, talking to him? Maybe a bit.  
  
The dyeing of his hair wasn't only to piss off Aunt Jane. He didn't understand people. He just wanted them to leave him alone. They definitely pissed him off.  
  
"That girl, Aldrea. She your sister?" Lee asked, smiling casually. "She's pretty good lookin', you gotta hand her that." Did he want to go out with her sister? Because that wouldn't be nice for Jamey, if he liked Aldrea as much as he suspected he did.  
  
Tobias raised an eyebrow. "I really wouldn't know. And yes, she's my sister."  
  
"Hmmm.Rilee's not my real sister. She's my stepsister. But she's pretty hot too."  
  
Tobias didn't seem very comfortable with Lee. When would Lee get the hint and leave? Tobias decided this would be a long year, and a longer summer.  
  
At their first Potion's class, Aldrea was quite unnerved by the Professor's stares. He faltered on both Tobias and her name. His eyes seemed to go wide as he read the name over and over. You could tell by his eyeballs.  
  
As the class wore on, Aldrea felt his eyes on her almost the whole class. She was sure he was some sort of perverted teacher and decided not to pay him any mind.  
  
This was just one small evidence that Tobias's statement was quite and unfortunately correct. 


	2. Chapter 2

Aldrea and Tobias's first year passed without incident. Unless you count Harry Potter's trouble with the Sorceress Stone, which they didn't. The year wasn't wonderful for them. In fact, they were in quite the same position at the end of the year as they were in the beginning. Tobias walked into the train again, almost glad to leave that castle. But he knew it would be worse with Aunt Jane. He wished he could curse her all the way to hell. Then they would all be happy. Because Aunt Jane definitely belonged there. Aldrea could only think about what she would say the Jamey. What would HE say to HER? Would he kiss her again? Would he try to pretend it had never happened? Both Tobias and Aldrea's thoughts were interrupted when a girl peeked in and asked if she could sit there. Her name was Faerie Hortfer. Faerie smiled at Aldrea. Even though they were in the same dorm for a year, they had hardly exchanged any speech. Next to enter was Jessica Groden. She was another girl in Aldrea's dorm whom she had never talked to. Fearie and Jessica spent almost the whole time jabbering about something Aldrea had none or less interest about. When they got home, first thing Aldrea made Tobias do was call Jamey and tell him to come over. She looked through her closet, wondering if she should change. Maybe into that purple shirt that people said brought out her eyes. Then, Aldrea shook her head. How she be going to boy crazy. She never had needed to change because of Jamey BEFORE. So she wouldn't start now. So when Jamey got to their house. He gave Tobias a high-five before slowly turning to look at me. Tobias smartly suggested he get them drinks because he was really thirsty. So Jamey was left with Aldrea. Aldrea almost thought he was going to kiss her again. But he didn't. He looked down at the floor and said somewhat muffled, "Sorry about what happened.that day. I didn't mean it for.I mean." "Don't worry about it. It's not that big of a deal, anyway. It's not like it was a bad kiss. It was a pretty good kiss, really." Jamey laughed and looked up at Aldrea. Aldrea smiled back at him. "Well, it wasn't. I wouldn't doubt if you said you'd had experience before." Jamey shook his head. "Not really." "Not really? What does THAT mean?" "Never mind. It really isn't something I want to talk about." Aldrea nodded. "Yeah." She sat down on a sofa. "Sit." Jamey sat and Aldrea tapped patiently on the arm of the sofa. Jamey looks down at his feet again. Aldrea gets the urge to take his hand in hers but decides against. They were silent until Aldrea said "It was hell, over there, you know?" Jamey looks over at her. "Where? Over there, wherever you went, you mean?" He seemed concerned which that by itself was bad enough. Aldrea nodded her head. "The girls were all, like those giggly girls." She does an imitation of them, squishing up her face in a loud high giggle and batted her eyebrows at Jamey. Jamey laughed "Sounds like my sister." Aldrea smiled "Maybe your sister made clones and changed how they looked. They're invading Hogwarts!" He laughed again, and seemed to getting back to his old self. And Aldrea was glad.  
  
******  
  
It was time to go back to school, again. Tobias and Aldrea were both feeling slightly differently than they had at that time a year before. Tobias was angry. What was with this world? Summer was supposed to be fun. It was hell for them! And it would be nice if school was fun, but it would never be. It was almost as much torture as summer. Grrr. Aldrea was tingling with excitement over Jamey's goodbye. It had been much less than last year's but she was left tingling from it all the same. Maybe it was a crush. She hadn't had such a big one before, even if it was. Tobias and Aldrea got onto the train again. Aldrea opened the first door and it turned out to be these 7th years, uh.getting pretty busy. Aldrea shut the door quickly and didn't let Tobias see what was in there. Aldrea finally found where Isobel and Bonnie were sitting. A few other girls that were like little followers surrounded Isobel. Isobel pretty much ignored them. The girls stuck up their noses in distaste when they saw Tobias enter. Tobias had to struggle to stop from laughing. People could be so predictable. He had guessed that they would do that. Was it his hair him not caring how he was hanging out with girls or him in general? Isobel just smiled "You guys know how to be late, huh?" Aldrea laughed. "I suppose. But it's nice to be late. Mostly anyway."  
  
Aldrea sat down next to Isobel and Tobias sat down next to Bonnie. Tobias didn't mind being seated with a bunch of girls. He usually didn't mind much at all. But at the same time he noticed Isobel's stare. She wasn't staring at him with distaste, like her clones. She was mostly watching him. He didn't look her in the eyes, afraid of what he might find there if he did. But he looked up at her anyway. Her muddy brown eyes stared at him, keeping his gaze. They just stared at each other, while Aldrea and Bonnie conversed and the Isobel girlies got up and left. He didn't see anything in her eyes that he understood. He wondered if his own eyes shown with the same light. He felt a warm feeling in his chest and quickly looked away. He no longer felt Isobel's gaze and heard her join into the conversation. He closed his eyes and tried to block them out. But Isobel's voice keeps slipping in through his mind barrier and making feel weird. He frowns and tries to slip towards sleep.  
  
******  
  
Nothing much happened to them in their second, third and fourth years except for the following: In their second year they discovered their powers.-  
  
(A/N: Yeah, yeah.so too many people are having their people have great powers but, too bad for them! Mine are special. Because.well.just BECAUSE!!! Ok, let's continue, shall we?)  
  
Aldrea was standing by the lake, waiting for Bonnie and Isobel. She was going to help them with their Charms homework and in turn Bonnie was doing her Herbology and Isobel was doing her Potions. Suddenly she heard a voice.  
  
"Gosh. How can I stand this another year? Sometimes a get such an urge to just kiss him. SOMETIMES. But, come on! Control yourself, Isobel.He is your best friend's brother!" Aldrea was confused. Was someone talking to Isobel and she had overheard? But it had sounded like Isobel. So maybe she was talking to herself. But how could she have heard? And it couldn't have been in her mind.right? About thirty seconds later Bonnie and Isobel came into view, carrying their books. It was warm so there were others outside working on homework and such. Aldrea approached them both quickly. "Isobel. Were you thinking about how not suriving the year and sometimes getting an urge to kiss someone?" she said as soon as they could hear each other. She wished she could shove to words back into her mouth. Bonnie giggled. "Isobel." she said in a soft mischievous voice. "Who's the lucky guy? Dean?" Bonnie thought he was slightly cute but not anyone she would like to ask out. At least, not yet. Isobel looked slightly embarrassed. She ignored Bonnie "What are you talking about, Aldrea?" "I mean.I-I-" "She means that it's obvious that you are fretting over a boy. But who is it?" Bonnie interrupted. Isobel rolled her eyes. "You are both mad." "Look. I heard something in my head before. It sounded like you, Isobel. And it said something about liking a guy." Aldrea could tell that Bonnie didn't believe that from her grin. "Really, guys!" Isobel looked torn. "I wasn't thinking that." she said weakly. "Look. Let me see if I can do it again." As soon as the words were out, she knew it was mistake. Of coarse! I'm not going to really be able to do this. But she was intent on doing it anyway. Bonnie sighed. "OK. What am I thinking of, Madam Chant?" Aldrea gave Bonnie a small glare before concentrating on Bonnie. She stayed like that for a little while. Then she felt something like a door open. It was hard to explain, the way it happened. It like being locked in a room and suddenly someone opens a door. You get things from another room that belongs to someone else. "Hehe. Can't wait to see Aldrea make a fool of herself. Not everyone falls for those stupid mind reading tricks. Hmm.I do wonder what guy Isobel is thinking about though." Aldrea suddenly snaps out of it. "Hey! You want to see me make a fool of myself? Sure. Not everyone falls for those mind reading tricks but who said this was a trick?" she says angrily. "And you wonder what guy Isobel's thinking of, do you?" Bonnie blushes slightly. "Oh. So you can read minds now?" Aldrea tilts her head slightly. "Hm.Cool"  
  
In their third year Isobel tells Tobias of her feelings-  
  
Isobel sighed and muttered to herself. Tobias looked up at the interruption of the silence of the library. He saw Isobel smiled slightly to himself. Isobel was always the kind of person who liked attention. There. He could add that to his list of how Bonnie and Isobel were and alike and Aldrea wasn't. Oh damn. He was turning to Jamey now? Isobel suddenly looked up at him and their eyes met. Her eyes shown with something he didn't really see in her eyes. He felt a thumping in his chest. Isobel stood and walked over to him. "Hey, can I talk to you?" He thought about reading her mind for a moment. He was glad Aldrea had told him that she could read minds. He tried it out and found he could too. Cool. But he decided not to. After all, he liked surprises. He nodded and let her lead him into the hall. After looking around a moment she looked him in the eyes. "Tobias? Will you not tell anyone? Yet?" "Tell what?" he asked, curious. Then she leaned over slowly and brushed her lips on his. He felt a loud thumping in his ears. He felt himself kiss her back. She took her hand in his for a few seconds before she let go and moved away from him. She looked embarrassed. She turned away and ran down the hall. He felt his eyes follow her. His mind was still replaying the minute before. 


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I dunno if I mentioned this, but I just began this story of Tobias and Aldrea's MOTHER. Just in case you want to. I'm not going to force you.*hides Voo doo doll*  
  
Isobel and Tobias were never exactly a couple. It had not turned their lives around, that kiss. This was real life, after all. They did, though feel less awkward in exchanging those 'looks'. Tobias wasn't sure before what he felt for Isobel. Now he did. And plus they exchanged several more kisses afterwards, though never in public.  
  
Aldrea, on the other hand, did have a boyfriend. Jamey had finally asked her out. The first time they had gone to the movies. They had not really paid attention to the movie but they had treasured the experience nonetheless. (Nothin' DIRTY happened, clear your minds!)  
  
But it was in their fifth year when their lives stared getting fast.  
  
First, Isobel decided that Tobias and her wouldn't work. Even with his stay-away-from-me-far-far-away attitude and his hair, he had a few girls all over him. She could see that and feel hurt on how something felt wrong about them going out. She knew she would never be able to bring herself to ask him on a date. She knew who he was. She knew who his mother had been. She knew where Tobias and Aldrea's great great grandmother had been from, and why she had been banished to this world. (A/N: This 'place' will be explained later) But knowing so much about his history and knowing that both his sister and him were in terrible danger would drive her mad. She had to drive him away from her. She herself was in danger, and if she was close to them that would drive the evil even closer to them both. But she couldn't bring herself to totally break away from his life. So she decided driving Tobias out of her love life would be the best she could possibly do.  
  
She one day she came up to Tobias while walking towards their next classes and said as simply as she could "Look, Tobias. This is not going to work. We have to give this up. Find another girl who will appreciate you and actually be able to ask you out."  
  
But it took a long time to convince Tobias. He didn't want to give up Isobel. When they were done and Isobel walked away, she didn't turn to look at him. Not because she didn't want to, but because he didn't need to see the tears threatening to flood her face. When she was alone at last she sobbed into her pillow, knowing there was no getting Tobias back.  
  
Meanwhile Aldrea was with Bonnie. They were giggling, Aldrea telling of her experiences with Jamey. He was her first boyfriend and it was wonderful to have one. A boyfriend. She shivered at the thought.  
  
Tobias was in the library. It was amazing how he did not notice the three pairs are eyes watching. One belonged to Faerie, the girl from Aldrea's dorm. The next, to Rilee, that girl that looked pretty ok, after all. And Orisis's. His dog. His dog's eyes were on him a lot, but Tobias had gotten used to it.  
  
It was Faerie that approached him first. "Hi! I'm Faerie, I'm sure your sister has told me about me, right."  
  
Tobias thought for a moment and then said at last, "Uh, let me think.nope. Never heard of you."  
  
Faerie didn't look as let down as he wanted her to. Darn, was he gaining people skills? This was not good.  
  
"So, are you busy tonight. I thought we could-" She could make a question NOT sound like a question.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You will." She looked hopeful.  
  
"No. I mean, yes as in: Yes I am busy tonight."  
  
"Oh. OK. How about any time soon."  
  
"Booked, sorry. Homework, you know." He ducked his head back into the book, even though the book was of curses, not homework. If Faerie didn't watch out, she would find herself with one of these curses cast on her. And he would be the castor, of coarse. Unless someone beat him to it. Unfortunately, that didn't seem too farfetched.  
  
Faerie walked off but to his disappointment, Rilee came over. "Hello." He said bitterly, hoping to scare her away with his bitterness.  
  
"Hi." She said simply. "What's up?"  
  
"The sky," he said, just as simply. Two could play that game.  
  
"Who was that other girl?"  
  
Tobias stared up at her. Why had she been watching him? "Even if I did know, why would you want to know?"  
  
"Just curious." She says defensively.  
  
"Uh huh." He turned to him book again. Maybe today would his lucky day and he could curse TWO girls.  
  
"So.I was wondering-"  
  
"I'm busy. All week. All month. All year. All my life. Now, leave me be!"  
  
There was a bark. Tobias looked down at Orisis to see him sniffing Rilee. She backed away from the dog. "No! Don't."  
  
Tobias smiled. Perhaps Orisis would scare her away. But sadly, even though she did back away, she didn't leave.  
  
"Didn't you hear me the first time? I'm B-U-S-Y." Tobias was beginning to get aggravated.  
  
"I wanted to ask about-"  
  
"Ask someone else. Like Hermione?"  
  
"Why should I? Why can't you?"  
  
"Because I do not want to answer? Got that?" He was seriously deciding which of these curses would hurt Rilee more.  
  
Fortunately, for her at least, she turned away then and walked off. But he was pretty sure that wouldn't be the last time he would spot Rilee OR Faerie.  
  
And he was right. In only a week, they probably knew all his classes, what time he liked to go to certain places and even when he want to go to bathroom. Whenever he came out of a room he saw either of them there, just outside the doorway. Or if not there, they were right behind him. It was starting to get very very annoying.  
  
Aldrea had faced them yesterday. Yet he still wondered what it was that Aldrea had said to them. They chased him the next day anyway.  
  
~*~*~*  
  
Aldrea, the day before, had gotten both Faerie away from her best friend, Jessica and Rilee away from her friends.  
  
"Ok guys, are you guys stalking my brother?"  
  
Faerie crossed her arms. "I'm not but I can easily say who is."  
  
Rilee frowned. "Look, Faerie, if I'M stalking him.YOU'RE definitely stalking him."  
  
"I don't give! I could care less! But why are you stalking my brother in the first place?" Aldrea could tire talking to these two.  
  
"He's single and.well, there." Faerie said, as if stating the obvious.  
  
"You two are after him because he's the only one that's still single? Now, THAT is pathetic."  
  
Rilee sent Faerie a glance of triumph. She thought she had already won. "I'M not after him just because he's there. He's nice and funny and-"  
  
"You'd have no idea what he's like, Rilee. Have even talked to him before, when your first sentence wasn't 'Are busy tonight?'? I didn't think so."  
  
Rilee glared at Aldrea. "Well, you can't decide for him. If he likes one of us for himself-"  
  
"He won't. Not if you follow him like you do."  
  
"We don't follow him. We meet in the halls."  
  
"Sure. And I found my hair in the garbage and put it on the day I was born."  
  
"That wasn't funny."  
  
"Wasn't supposed to be."  
  
Faerie stomped back to Jessica, obviously whining to her about what Aldrea had just said. Rilee turned and walked out of the room. Aldrea cursed and went to her bed to finish some homework.  
  
~*~*~*  
  
This was it. Tobias would take no more. He was going to get rid of these girl, once and for all.  
  
When Faerie came up to him, almost before she opened her mouth, he said. "Shut up. Say anything, I will not answer. I will ignore you. Now leave."  
  
She frowned. "But To-o-oby." she said in a whiney voice, using one of his least favorite nicknames.  
  
"Look, the name's Tobias. Get out of my life," He said harshly and walked off, knowing Rilee would soon be approaching.  
  
And she did. "Did you-"  
  
"No. I didn't."  
  
"You don't even-"  
  
"You say almost the same freakin' thing every single day!"  
  
"No I-"  
  
"UH huh.RIGHT."  
  
"Why are-"  
  
"Shut up! Get away from me and never talk to me again! I don't care about you at all! Why do you stalk me?"  
  
"I don't-"  
  
"Liar." Tobias said through clenched teeth.  
  
"Look-" she said, placing a hand on his arm.  
  
"Didn't you hear me?" He snatched his arm away from her grip. "Get away from me. Do not come near me." He turns to walk off again, leaving Rilee standing there, looking amazed at where Tobias had just stood. 


	4. Chapter 4

A/n: I'm not sure I like this chapter. Hmm..I'll re-read it later. anyway. Flame, review, whatever. I'm in a lazy mood today.  
  
Disclaimer: I'm lazy and not going to write it again. You know what's going to be put here. A) a witty and funny comment or B)a 'All this belongs to [whoever] I wish it belonged to me' trash. Well, not really trash since I write it too. Anyway, I'm just being weird today and lazy. Whatever. Arg, not that word again.  
  
Tobias was getting scared. He was actually starting to like Rilee. The following events had happened the last few days.  
  
One, Rilee had started to cry and ran into the bathroom.  
  
Two, Faerie had given up on him after thinking he was choosing Rilee instead of him.  
  
Three, Rilee stopped annoying him so much and was being NICE to him.  
  
Four, he stared to like her. This was not going to way he wanted it to. He wanted to not like Rilee, not start liking her! Would this have happened with Faerie too, if Rilee had given up?  
  
Rilee was sitting down next to him one day. She was leaning in close, and Tobias was bothered by the fact that it wasn't bothering him as much as usual. But he wasn't about to let Rilee know that. He moved away from her.  
  
Rilee sighed and grabbed his hand. He slipped it out of her grip intensively. And on it went, almost the same as the time before and the time before that..  
  
It was almost Christmas time, and Aldrea had decided to go stay with Jamey over vacation. At first she hadn't even thought that Tobias wouldn't come. Then she figured out he wasn't. He just didn't feel like bothering with Aunt Jane anymore. Because Jamey would only be able to have one guest, and Tobias suspected that Aldrea would be the one most wanted.  
  
Tobias felt slightly left out, as was expected. He best friend and his sister had dumped him for each other. It's hard not to feel a bit depressed. He tried to get over it, but he couldn't. He knew it wasn't right, but he wished that Aldrea and Jamey had a horrible time.  
  
  
  
Aldrea gave Tobias one last hug and waved to Isobel and Bonnie before getting on the train. Tobias sighed and Rilee (who had come along as well) took his arm. "What's wrong?" she asked as if talking to an intimate partner. Tobias felt sick and awkward at that and didn't answer.  
  
Isobel watched in disappointment. She knew Tobias too well to hope that Rilee wasn't charming him. She wondered how soon it would be until she wouldn't be able to stand to even look at Rilee or Tobias.  
  
Bonnie punched her lightly in the shoulder. C'mon, Izzy! You can deal with this. YOU dumped HIM remember?" she looked at Isobel suspiciously. "Why do I get the feeling you didn't 'suddenly not have the same feelings for him.' I think you still like him. A lot, if you're still brooding over dumping him. Why'd you do it? He piss you off?"  
  
Isobel sighed. "Look, Bonnie. This is nothing I can explain." she hung her head. "Nothing I can explain easily, anyway. Maybe I'll tell you later."  
  
Bonnie crossed her arms stubbornly. "Nope, Isobel. No more escaping it. Why did you dump Tobias?" Isobel quickly scanned the area around them to see if anyone had heard. Tobias and Rilee had left a little while before and no one much was left. "Why, Isobel. You still like him, but now I'm not so sure he still likes you with that fawning Rilee crawling all over him."  
  
Isobel sighed and shrugged cheerlessly. "I know that it's not in the prophesy for him to love me or to have any relationship with me that might end in sex and pregnancy." Bonnie's eyes widen. "Don't tell me you guys were going that far."  
  
Isobel rolled her eyes. "You idiot! Of coarse not. We could barely kiss in public, much less.that. But if we had lasted longer.well, I just don't know. Rilee, on the other hand, might score with Tobias."  
  
Bonnie groaned. "And you're going to stand there and let that happen? If I were you, I'd fight for him; prophesy or-" then she stopped, thinking over Isobel's earlier words. "Isobel.what prophesy are you talking about?"  
  
Isobel leaned in closer. "THE prophesy. The prophesy of Amplis and the rest of the Everworlds and Faelands." While Bonnie frowned in confusion, Isobel continued. "You see, I'm from this other world. Not another planet, but.well, it hard to explain. But it's like nothing you've ever seen!" She closed her eyes and sighed wistfully. Bonnie cocked an eyebrow. "And what, Tobias is a savior of this land in the prophesy. And don't tell me! He has to be a virgin!"  
  
Isobel rolled her eyes again. "No. The prophesy is that the one at the end of a shunned witch's line will save us all from the rule of Igor. Anyway, he DOESN'T have to be virgin.he has to have half and half children. Half from Amplis, from his side, and half from here, from his wife's. But that's if he's NOT the savor. There's a chance he might not be. His powers aren't very strong at all, so it slightly apparent that he might not be."  
  
"And tell me why it can't be Aldrea that saves the world?"  
  
"The end of the line would be the last, I suspect. So that means that the one born last. Which equals Tobias. And the saver is to be able to speak in his-"  
  
"Or her!" Bonnie interrupts.  
  
"Or her minds." Isobel finishes. "Even though Aldrea DOES have to stronger powers."  
  
"Powers too?" Bonnie gasped. "Man, gimme an update!"  
  
  
  
Aldrea knocked at Jamey's door. She waited in freezing cold for him to open the door. She thought of using a small spell to warm herself, but decided not to risk it. Finally the door opened and Jamey popped his head out of the opening.  
  
"Hey, Aldrea!" he cried and he pulled her in. He embraced her quickly and gave her quick kiss. Aldrea welcomed the warmth of the house and of Jamey. She wanted to snuggle up next to Jamey on the couch and sleep.  
  
But she heard the sound of music in the dining room and followed Jamey into the dining room. She-  
  
*Death, it whispered. Deeeeeath.*  
  
-closed her eyes and felt as if there was a message for her that she couldn't hear. She looked around, but there was no one calling. She shrugged and continued listening to Jamey's parent's greetings. She smiled back at them. Man, sleep was what she need, that was for sure.  
  
That night she felt as if she just COULDN'T get to sleep. She felt restless and got up suddenly. She walked as quietly as she could to Jamey's room. She sat on the edge of his bed and poked his shoulder. "Jaaamey." she whispered into his ear lightly.  
  
He jumped with a start. When he saw it was just Aldrea, he calmed down. "What is it?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.  
  
She shrugged. "I couldn't sleep."  
  
"So you came here in the hopes that I wouldn't be able to sleep either?" Jamey sighed and sat. "Well, I was sleeping, you know."  
  
"Yeah, I know, Jamey. Sorry. I just." He interrupted her with a-  
  
*I will cause you death. Death is the price.*  
  
-kiss. She shivered but sank into Jamey's arm eagerly, glad to the warm and safety it brought her. Why was she feeling so alone. So strange?  
  
  
  
Tobias was sitting in the GCR, talking with Bonnie. She seemed more interested in a group of people by the door, then the actual conversation with him, but he didn't mind.  
  
"Tobias. Do you like Rilee a lot?" That caught him by surprise. He had been trying to figure out that question all day. He wasn't sure whether or not he still like Isobel, or if he was getting past her.  
  
"I don't know. I really don't. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't." He looked down at the ground as he said that, not wanting to see Bonnie's expression.  
  
"Do you like Isobel?" Once again, a question he wasn't expecting. This one, though, he hadn't been thinking of directly, but in a way, that was the real question. He shrugged slightly, feeling miserable. How the heck was he expected to deal with this? This was beyond anything he had ever had to deal with. Maybe if he joined a monastery, he would be rid of all this junk.  
  
"If you promise not to tell Isobel I told you.I'll tell you something." Bonnie looked dead serious then. God, had Isobel told her why she had dumped me? Could I stand knowing. For once if was a good thing that Bonnie could never keep a secret. "I won't tell Isobel."  
  
Bonnie cleared her throat. She could be a real drama queen, if she wanted to. "Tobias.Isobel didn't have a real reason to dump you. If you ask me, whoever sent her here was being damn selfish!"  
  
Tobias was confused by this time. What was she talking about? Someone had sent Isobel here? What was Bonnie ranting on about now? Was this some sick joke that she was playing on him?  
  
"Look, Tobias. Here's a long story short. Isobel still likes you a lot. She had to dump you to save this world someplace. But she's really brave and strong, if you ask me. I wouldn't have been able to let the guy I liked go, even if it was risking a whole world." "She dumped me because if she continued with me the world would blow up or something?" he asked skeptically.  
  
"God! Guys!" Bonnie rolled her eyes. "God! You are part this prophesy or something, and she can't stay with you and have you (or your children) save that other world at the same time! It was a choice between the other land and your relationship. Get it?!"  
  
Tobias began to catch on, and was beginning to agree with Bonnie. Although he still didn't think about the prophecy part, he wasn't sure he would have been able to do the same thing Isobel had. And in a way, he wished she hadn't been able to either. He liked the way life had been much simpler when they had been together.  
  
"I-I don't know what to think now. I don't want to like Rilee, but Isobel dumped me so that I could like someone like her. What am I supposed to DO? Why me? Why us?!"  
  
Bonnie patted his shoulder tenderly. Not lovingly, she didn't have a crush on him. She loved him, but as a close friend, not as a boyfriend kind of person. She was ready to comfort him.  
  
"Hey! Toby!" It was Rilee, like he never could have guessed.  
  
"Don't call me Toby." Tobias answered. It was becoming a habit. He looked up at her. For the first time he really looked at her and saw she really was pretty. But this really wasn't the time that he wanted to talk to people. "Look, sorry Bonnie. Sorry, Rilee. I'll talk later." Bonnie gave him a knowing nod and Tobias got up. He went off to his dorm, his brain running in overload. 


	5. Chapter 5

Oh my god. What had she done? Should she have made such a decision in just a short while? God, had she really done it?  
  
She was no longer a virgin.  
  
Oh. My. God. She wasn't truly panicked on not being a virgin. Just on how she felt different, yet knew she wasn't. Was this how it felt to lose your virginity?  
  
Man, it wasn't like she remembered much of the night except for Jamey, anyway. Oh man. Why was she getting so hyped up about this? It was no biggie, really. WHAT THE HECK WAS WRONG WITH HER?!  
  
Maybe she just wasn't used to love. She hadn't ever said to herself, "Jamey loves me." In a way she knew. But she wasn't the kind of person who would say, or even think really, that another would love her. So it was weird to actually have something that made her say, "He wouldn't have if he didn't love me." Maybe that was it.  
  
Or maybe it was because she didn't know whether of not they had used protection. Why had she never thought of buying anything? Had she always been so oblivious? What if Jamey had something? Man, something was wrong with her if she was a teenager that worried about this stuff.  
  
But once she got thinking about it, she didn't regret it. She trusted Jamey, even if that was how most girls got pregnant or STDs anyway. By trusting their boyfriends.  
  
She got up, not knowing how she had gotten into her night-stuff last night. She yawned and decided to forget it and go get ready. Then go down for some breakfast. She walked out, forgetting that she was coming from Jamey's room. Luckily, his parents weren't there. They weren't the type of parents who would like that him and his girlfriend were making out in the night.  
  
When she got into the bathroom, she took a quick bath, getting calm. She wanted to stay in the tub forever, sinking deeper into the warm-  
  
*DEAD!*  
  
She jumped, having felt a jolt. She had been feeling them ever since she had come to Jamey's but this one was more powerful than the others had been. She quickly drained the tub, dried off, and got dressed.  
  
She ran downstairs, still feeling chilled. She saw Jamey sitting there, his hair in his eyes and she felt as if it wasn't possible that she was worrying about anything. If this was love, she wanted to feel it more often. She sat down next to him and took his hand from under the table. "Hey, morning."  
  
"Uh huh." he said groggily. Obviously had hadn't gotten as much sleep as Aldrea had. She had slept wonderfully, but wondered what was wrong with him. She gave him a sideways look, before getting up and pouring herself some cereal. Then she sat back down.  
  
"So, what's wrong?" she asked curiously. She hoped he wasn't sick. Not now.  
  
"I don't know. I feel really weird inside. Like-" suddenly his spoon flipped over, caused by his hand clutch his head. He grunted painfully. His eyes were closed tightly and Aldrea could feel him shivering. When his 'attack' was finished, she took his hand.  
  
"When did it start, Jamey?" What was wrong with him? This wasn't an illness she wasn't familiar with. Not that she was a doctor or anything in the first place.  
  
"Start? Uh.I think, uh, last night. Right after you went to sleep." That answer froze her blood completely. Her breath stopped and her heart skipped a beat. Could this all be her fault. Did she have something in her that she had passed to Jamey without knowing? God, how could Aldrea live with herself if he was hurt because of her?  
  
"How bad's the pain?" she asked as quietly as she caressed his face softly. [A/n: Arg! I must get off this part ASAP and on to the real MEANING of this story/chapter/whatever. *sigh* Talk about mushy.] He closed his eyes slowly. "Bad, good. Both, depending on when. Bad when it's good. Good when it's bad." Aldrea frowned as he said that. He either was confused or this disease hurt when it didn't or something like that.  
  
"C'mon," she said, as she gripped his arm and pulled him up. "You are going upstairs and taking a nap." She let him lean on her while she dragged him upstairs. It turned out she didn't have to have worried in the morning OR at that moment about Jamey's parents. They had gone shopping. Aldrea suspected it was to leave Jamey and her alone for a while.  
  
While she helped him down to sleep, he peeked up at her through his eyelashes. "Stay?" What if he couldn't even form full sentences now? But she decided to leave those thoughts for later. Now was for making Jamey as comfortable as possible. She wrapped his hands in hers and nodded. "Yeah. I'm here and I'm not leaving. Just sleep. Sleep."  
  
  
  
Aldrea was to come back in two days. That was the earliest you could come back to Hogwarts. I would have thought that Aldrea and Jamey would have wanted as much time as possible together. Maybe they had gotten into a fight.  
  
He didn't hate Rilee now. Well, depending on the moments. Sometimes she could be sweet. Really sweet. It was at times like that he would have actually have let her kiss him. But sometimes she was annoying. So annoying that Tobias would have liked to kiss Faerie on the mouth just to shut her up.  
  
Rilee was with him now. But he was thinking about Isobel. He had stopped thinking about him a long time ago. He had stopped believing Bonnie's speech about how Isobel still liked him. Especially the prophecy part. How lame could Bonnie get? Not much lamer actually. A prophecy. Seriously.  
  
But Isobel had never been mean to him. She had treated him as one would a friend you want to be more. But they HAD once been more than friends. She had ruined it, not him. So if she wanted him back now, it was too late. Maybe he would even go out with Rilee, either out of spite, or because she wasn't that bad anymore.  
  
The next day, when Rilee sat next to him, and moved closer, he didn't move away like he usually did. Maybe Rilee wouldn't be too bad. After all, she deserved a chance, didn't she?  
  
That whole day, Rilee hardly left him alone. It was as if him not moving away had been proof that they were soul mates. Yeah, right. He was starting to regret his decision. He, at one class he had with Isobel, peeked at Isobel's mind, wondering her thoughts were about Rilee being all over him. What he caught was a bunch of images. He saw himself, sitting with Isobel, back when they were 'together'. It was quickly squished by an image of Rilee, instead of Isobel herself. And there was Rilee, her arms full with a child. A child with those gray eyes he himself had.  
  
He shot out of her mind like a bullet. That had been his first proof in a long time that Isobel had any feeing about him still. But that image of Rilee carrying a child that was obviously theirs was extreme. What was it about? He wasn't sure if he was ready to kiss her, much less have a kid with her. But would he be, in time?  
  
He wasn't sure if that thoughts was comforting or not.  
  
The day before Aldrea would come back, he gave myself another little peek at Isobel, but during a time when she was across the whole school. It was a test of his skills, he told himself, not another peek at Isobel's thoughts. He didn't convince himself well.  
  
This time, her thoughts weren't on him or Rilee, but they weren't on her class either.  
  
'Oh, the village. How strange it is here, where they are so confided, unable to find their limits. Here their powers are so limited, that I am finding it hard to keep myself look and acting average. But soon I will return home. Home to my mother, has she lived through the sickness. Why was I sent here? I am not strong enough, as I once thought. Bonnie thinks I'm so strong. I feel weak. Weaknesses peek through, no matter where you look. I will fail, and with me Amplis will fall. I am not strong enough.'  
  
He frowned. What was she talking about? Amplis? There was no such place, was there? What was she talk about? Did she mean she was stronger than all of them? Was she so strong? Where was the home she spoke off? How could he find the answers to such questions without letting her know of his peeking? Damn, there was no point. There were no answers to these questions. Not yet, anyway.  
  
Finally it was time to meet Aldrea. The sound of the engines slowing and coming to a halt made it hard to hear yourself think. At first Tobias didn't even recognize his sister. "Aldrea?" he asked cautiously, think about how those dark circle that were under these girl's eyes were not her sister's. But she turned at the sound of his words, and he saw the same eyes as his staring back. "Tobias!" She ran up to him and hugged him tightly. "Tobias. Oh my god, Tobias."  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked, holding her away from him at arms length. He was looking at her tired features; thinking about how they didn't fit her when she had left Hogwarts.  
  
"It was Jamey, Tobias. He got sick. I don't know how. But I know it was after-After we..we."  
  
"After you gave your virginity away. Go on." He looked deep into her eyes, looking for meaning in them.  
  
"He got sick. Maybe it's my fault. I don't know. He seemed better when I left." she began to sob. "Jamey's parents. They were horrible. They though I brought it upon him. Maybe I did. But they didn't have to send me away. I need to know he is! But my powers don't work at such a distance. I need him, Tobias. Is he better, is he worse. I need to know!"  
  
It took Tobias a second or two to suck in the facts. His best friend was sick, maybe dying. It began right after his sister and him had sex. He tried not to blame him sister inward, but it was struggle. There was no other answer.  
  
But he had to just look at his sister to see it was hurting her to see Jamey like that, especially if she might have caused it. She knew that she might be to blame, and it burned her to have that knowledge. He couldn't be too harsh with her.  
  
He stroked her head lightly. "Don't worry. Aldrea, it'll be alright. It'll end up just fine, you'll see." He went on and on to that effect, until she was calm enough. He took her up to the GCR, where Bonnie and Isobel waited.  
  
"Aldrea!" Isobel cried when she saw the state my sister was in. She wrapped her in a big hug before asking, "What happened?"  
  
She told them, and they stood, shocked, probably knowing what pain she was going through. It was Isobel that spoke first. "Aldrea, first thing you are going to do is take a nap. You will sleep, for you obviously need the rest." She would have said more if the Head Boy had not entered the GCR, all flustered about something.  
  
"Who here is Aldrea Chant?" he asked urgently. Aldrea looked over at him and raised her hand, obviously not trusting herself to speak.  
  
He nodded and handed her a letter. "Came in a little while ago. Said it was urgent."  
  
She slowly opened the envelope and almost silently took out the letter. She opened up, almost in slow motion. Then she read the note. The more she read, she wetter her eyes began. They began to overflow and run down her cheeks. At last she put the note down. She looked up at me, staring into my eyes with her wet ones. "He's dead," she said quietly. "He died an hour after I left."  
  
  
  
Aldrea never would forget Jamey. She never wanted another guy. She didn't want to marry or have children. She would only accept them as her own when Jamey fathered them.  
  
But now he was dead.  
  
She cried herself to sleep at night, if she slept at all. All her classes were a dream, a dream where her life continued, even though the guy the loved had just died. She cooped her feeling inside her. If you just saw her in the hall, you would think she was unchanged. But if you looked closer, you would see she had never smiled.  
  
Tobias was worried. Jamey's death had hit him hard as well, but he was able to move on after a few weeks of getting used to the idea. Sure, he wasn't about to forget Jamey, but he wasn't about to stop smiling and always seem hard and cold either.  
  
So one day, almost a month after the death, Aldrea was in the GCR, thinking. Memories and moments she had taken for granted. Lee, Rilee's stepbrother, who had been sitting not too far away, came to sit next to her. "Hey, babe. What's with the long face? You lost your smile?"  
  
Aldrea looked over at him solemnly. "My boyfriend died." she said simply, not looking for pity or sympathy. Just stating the facts. Whatever she expected, it was not his grin. "Well, that means you're single, right?"  
  
How he could treat death so lightly was beyond her. But she went along with it. "I suppose."  
  
On and on went the conversation, even though several times, Aldrea considered leaving. But she stayed. And in the days that followed, their conversations were one of the few things that kept her going. She began to tell him things. Things she never even knew she felt. Yet it felt so nice to let it all out.  
  
Tobias was glad that Aldrea was calmer now, and not so tense. She needed a friend, someone besides Bonnie and Isobel, who had failed in getting her to move on. Sure, Lee wasn't beyond having one night stands for weeks on end, or so was told. But Aldrea trusted him anyway, without proof.  
  
  
  
Tobias's relationship with Rilee had been growing as well. He liked her a lot now, although he wasn't thinking of anything drastic. Not now, anyway.  
  
Seeing Aldrea not moaning around about Jamey, made him feel better.  
  
But then it all changed. For them both.  
  
One night, Aldrea was sitting with Lee, talking. She was telling him how she was so tired of always being the peacemaker at her house. Tobias and Aunt Jane always fought. She was the one who suffered through her anger while Tobias ran off. She was the one who had to clean up after them both. And she was goddamn sick of it.  
  
She was so busy telling him that she didn't notice him coming and sitting close. Too close. But Aldrea didn't see that. She only saw that he was listening and she had much to say. But he was only looking at her, almost hungrily. He took her hand, trying to make it seem friendly. He succeeded and Aldrea smiled.  
  
But he had stopped listening to her. She was pretty, he though to himself. I wonder how it would feel to have sex with her. Hmm.  
  
Somehow Aldrea had gotten back to the subject of Jamie. She talked on and on about how much fun she had had with him, going to movies and such. She tried not to think about the death part of him.  
  
He moved closer to her, half hoping she would notice, and half hoping she wouldn't. Suddenly out of nowhere, he grabbed her chin and kissed her roughly.  
  
The shock of such a move on her, paralyzed her for a moment. That was enough for Lee. It was late, so the GCR was empty. So Lee pushed her back against he wall that was beside the fireplace. She struggled, but it was too late. The small moment when he had been vulnerable had passed and he had in his grasp.  
  
She kicked and squirmed, but to no avail. He slid his grubby paws up the hem of her shirt and she began to scream again his mouth. He locked his lips tightly onto her's. She couldn't move. He tried sliding his tongue into her mouth. After finding she wasn't resisting his tongue, he slide in deeper. That was when he felt the sharp pain on his tongue.  
  
She had bit him! The stupid bitch had bit him. He had let go of her and she was running. But he wasn't about to lose her. He wasn't done with the little whore.  
  
He grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her back toward him. She kneed him in the balls and won herself some more seconds, in which she ran up to the girl's stairway. Lee had lost her for the moment. But he wasn't going to let this wound of his pride go free. No. Revenge would be sweet.  
  
Tobias was in shock. He felt weird. I wasn't sure if he was happy, or if he was sad of what. He was just.weird. He put his head into his hands as he sat in the GCR.  
  
He really liked Rilee. Maybe he even loved her. He wouldn't say it to her face, of course. But he couldn't fight what he felt.  
  
Just then Rilee came in. She smiled at him and sat down next to him. Then she wrapped her arms around began to french him. Tobias turned his head and broke the kiss. "Uh, hi."  
  
She sighed and moved to sit on his lap. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. That was what troublesome about Rilee. She was so perfect, yet he didn't know what to think about her. It was strange.  
  
And Jamey was gone.  
  
That was happening a lot all of a sudden. He would be thinking of something, and suddenly Jamey would pop into his head. It would make his stomach tie into a knot and he wouldn't be able to speak for a few seconds. He just couldn't the hang of it.  
  
"You alright, hun?" Rilee whispered up at him.  
  
He shrugged. "Just thinking, I guess."  
  
"You shouldn't think so much then."  
  
He shrugged again and didn't say anything.  
  
She smiled at him. "C'mon, Toby. I'll take your mind off everything." She took his hand and led him upstairs to her dorm. He let her. 


	6. Chapter 6

For once in her life, she wasn't glad she wasn't part of a group. She seriously wanted to be surrounded by people at all times. In case Lee came back. But she wasn't part of any group, so she did what she could. She used her powers every so often to search Lee out. If he got too close, she would leave.  
  
Classes were a nightmare. People who weren't being sympathetic ignored her. Tobias and her didn't talk much.  
  
One day she found a note on her bed.  
  
'Dear Aldrea and Tobias', it read, 'You don't know me. I don't know you. But I knew your mother. I don't know who you live with now, and I'm not sure how much you know about your mother. But I won't lie. I've always wanted to see Ariadne's children. Tomorrow afternoon, meet me on the tall hill thing, past Hogsmede. Signed, Sirius Black.'  
  
Sirius Black! I clutched the letter tightly. Tobias surely wouldn't go! Or allow her to go. But if she didn't tell him.  
  
He knew her mother. Maybe he was even her father. She let herself entertain the daydream for a little while. But after a while she put the note under her mattress. Then she went into the pile in her trunk, which were her clothes. "What should I wear tomorrow?" she asked herself. She sounded like she was planning what to wear on a date. She giggled nervously to herself.  
  
The next day she was extremely jumpy. Tobias kept asking her if anything was wrong. She shook her head each time. She WANTED to tell him, but knew he would say no.  
  
Finally it was afternoon, and Aldrea finally realized why her plan had been so weak. How was she going to escape from Hogwarts and get to Hogsmede? She was going up to her dorm room, sure that there was no way to get to Black.  
  
Then when she walked into the room, she got a fright. There was something on her bed. When she picked it up, her hand disappeared. It was an invisibility cloak. Out of it fell a note.  
  
'Leave it under your bed when you finish with it.' She stared at it for a moment and shrugged. She didn't care that it wasn't signed. She was going to find out about her parents!  
  
After almost half an hour tugging herself up the 'hill', she was up. Out of breath and panting loudly, but there. She turned to the dog that had followed her from Hogsmede. "Come here, puppy." She said and patted its head. Then she turned and went into this weird cave thing that she hadn't seen from below.  
  
It was empty. She looked around. There was food and newspapers and it smelled like someone had taken several dumps recently, but it was totally empty. Then from behind her was a voice. "You came."  
  
She spun and faced Black. His shaggy black hair made him look like the murderer he was. But murderer or not, she HAD to know who her parents were.  
  
"You don't look like her."  
  
That slightly disappointed her. She had hoped that she did look rather like her mother. But no, which the opposite. She DIDN'T look like her.  
  
"Don't you have a brother?" he asked.  
  
"He wouldn't have come, even if I had told him. He wouldn't have let me come either."  
  
"Why did you come then?"  
  
"I've always been more curious about my heritage than he has. He looks towards the future. I look towards the past."  
  
"Well, your mother didn't know her parents. She lived at an orphanage."  
  
"Oh." It was one disappointment after another. "How did you meet my mother?"  
  
"We were in the same year. I didn't really notice her until our fifth year. But she had noticed me. She had a crush on my since our first year." He smiled slightly, as he remembered his years at Hogwarts.  
  
"Why did you suddenly notice her then?"  
  
"There were few girl who would waste their time with a small thing called revenge. But not Ariande. I messed with her, she would mess with me back." He smiled wistfully at the memory.  
  
"Was my mother pretty? Who was my father?" She had more questions but decided to hold back on them.  
  
"Well, in the eyes of many, no, your mother average. But she was beautiful, if you got to know her. And your father, well...."  
  
"Did you love my mother?" she interrupted.  
  
"Yes." He answers, without pausing.  
  
"Are you my father?"  
  
"No." he said, once again not pausing.  
  
"Then who is my father?" she pushed.  
  
"Well, in her sixth year, your mother was raped."  
  
Aldrea couldn't find the words to answer. Her mother, raped? And like that, Tobias and Aldrea had been born? That had never been what she had expected. So she and her brother were nothing but a....mistake?  
  
As if reading her mind, Black, spoke. "She loved you. Whether or not your father was the guy who raped her. You were her children and she would never have abandoned you willingly."  
  
"So why did she leave?"  
  
"She was murdered." She words froze Aldrea's blood. Murdered?  
  
"How? By who?"  
  
"Well, who exactly was never made clear. But I know who I think did it."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Well, your mother had a friend from the orphanage. Her friend later became her babysitter for you guys when your mother went out. One day we went out, leaving you two with her friend again. When I dropped her off, nothing seemed wrong. I came back early the next morning and knocked on the door." He swallowed as if it hurt to talk. But he continued. "No one answered. So I went through the side of the house, to see if your mother was in the backyard and couldn't hear me knock. There I found her.  
  
"She had blood covering her hair, matting it. She looked as if she had been thrown against the wall. She was dead. Her cold, lifeless eyes, I can still see, if I try enough." He shivered slightly. "Anyway, I ran inside. You and Tobias were gone, as was your mother's friend. I think she did it. Your mother's friend."  
  
"What was her name?"  
  
"Jane. Janis, really, but Jane for short." Aldrea's breath caught in her throat.  
  
"Aunt Jane!" she cried. "She's the one who cares for us. Aunt Jane. I always knew she wasn't my aunt." Then her eyes rolled into the back of head, and she feel to the ground.  
  
Sirius tried catching her before she fell, but failed. Her head hit the ground with a thud. She left the back of her head and his hand came back bloody. He took an old newspaper and pressed it into the wound. Then he waited for her wake. Her breath was even and she seemed alive. Except that nothing would wake her.  
  
Aldrea had a vision. She saw a black haired girl. She was watching a boy. They were both in the G. Common Room. Her eyes were like hers, gray.  
  
Then she saw them in the winter. Skating. Then the girl, her mother she now knew, fell through the ice. The boy, a younger version of Sirius, pulled her out. They sat by a tree. They kissed. She ran.  
  
Aldrea saw years fly by. She saw her mother fall in love with Sirius. She saw Sirius start loving her back. She saw her mother get raped. She saw her mother have twins. Them, she thought to herself. She saw her mother leave the orphanage when she had grown. She saw her mother leave one day. Finally time slowed down. She saw the world through her mother's eyes. She saw the empty cribs. She felt herself running down the side of her house. She saw Jane.  
  
"Jane! The children are gone!"  
  
"I know."  
  
"Help me look for them!" Aldrea never even saw the brick coming. And as she felt her life slip away she heard Jane's voice.  
  
"Don't worry. I'll take good care of Sirius for you. Now that you're out of the way we can be happy." Then Ariadne died and Aldrea woke up with a start.  
  
Sirius looked down at her with a worried expression on his face. "Are you ok?" Aldrea didn't answer for a moment. She looked at him silently. Then at last she answered. "Jane kill her for you, you know."  
  
Sirius looked stricken. "Then I killed her. I killed James and Lily, and now I killed Ariadne too."  
  
"Why did you kill Lily and James in the first place?"  
  
"Does it matter? You won't believe me anyway."  
  
"How do you know that?" Aldrea challenged. Sirius could see she would not rest until she was told. Ah, so she was stubborn like her mother.  
  
"I was the only one to know where James and his family were. Only I could ever find them. But I knew that I was the first person Voldemort would look for if he wanted the secret of the Potters' destination. So I told the secret to Peter, for I thought Voldemort would never think of questioning Peter. I was right. He didn't need to question Peter. Peter told him. And like that, James and Lily were killed."  
  
"But you said you killed them." Aldrea said, confused.  
  
"True. But I didn't kill them literally. I killed them figuratively. If I hadn't made such a poor choice, they would still be here, alive."  
  
"But Voldemort would still be out there." So Aldrea was also a voice a reason. She seemed more like Ariadne by the second.  
  
"True."  
  
"But you got your revenge, did you not?" she asked, "Peter was killed. You blew him up. "  
  
"No. That was a show for everyone else. You see, we could change our forms. Illegally, of coarse. Long story short, he changed and disappeared, cutting off his finger as a dramatic effect. He's still out there. Serving Voldemort."  
  
"So you are innocent?"  
  
"Yes and no."  
  
"You mean yes. You blame yourself without reason. You made a mistake, nothing more."  
  
"A mistake that cost James and Lily their lives! It was as if I held the wand myself."  
  
"But you did not."  
  
"I feel like I did."  
  
"So? You were not truly the reason they died, were you? Were you the reason Voldemort wanted to kill them?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Well, then you have no reason to feel the way you feel. You haven't felt true guilt."  
  
"And you have, I suppose you're saying?" he seemed totally sarcastic, and not at all expecting what he would hear.  
  
"Yes. My ex-boyfriend got sick and died."  
  
"But that has nothing to do with you at all. You are not the first one who has had a sick boyfriend. It is you who has never felt true guilt, not I."  
  
"Then answer me this. Why did he get sick over night? And right after he-he slept with me?"  
  
"He slept with you? You are but 15-"  
  
"Answer the question!" she said roughly.  
  
But Sirius could not. And Aldrea knew it.  
  
"And just now I got more proof of what I say." Aldrea began.  
  
"Which is?" Sirius inquired.  
  
"Before Jane killed my mother, I felt a force, unlike any other. It came close. And it was out to kill my mother. It was the same force that I felt before Jamey died. It was after my mother, and thank god Jane got to her before that force could. But this force is now after me. And it killed Jamey to get to ME. To hurt me. And it has hurt me. Hurt me so much, that I could hardly even tell betrayal from friendship, even from close up."  
  
"Betrayal? From whom?" But Aldrea would not answer. She just sat there, staring at the wall. And with complete certainty she spoke.  
  
"And when the time comes, it will kill me too."  
  
Tobias waited in the library. Aldrea had told him to meet her there. People kept giving him looks. The librarian herself kept looking at him suspiciously. That might have had something to do with the fact that he had come into the library about five times since he had come to Hogwarts.  
  
Finally he spotted Aldrea coming towards him. She looked happier than she had in months. "Wazzup, Aldy?" He asked, lighthearted.  
  
"Look, Tobias. You will not believe this! I just found out who are mother was!" Was this the news? Jeeze. He had never cared who his mother was. He had never cared who is father was, either. He would have cared less if he had found he had an Uncle Joe. "And Aunt Jane isn't really our aunt," she continued.  
  
"That's news? I've KNOWN that," he scoffed.  
  
"Well, now you know it for sure," Aldrea answered, looking obviously disappointed at his lack of enthusiastic attitude. Sorry, but he was not about to lie about how much he cared about the subject at hand.  
  
Aldrea sighed. "Look, I know you've never cared about our mother, or our father. But listen to this. That same thing that killed Jamey killed our mother."  
  
"You mean, the same disease?"  
  
"The same force."  
  
Tobias shook his head in disbelief. "I don't believe this. I thought you were past that. Look, Aldrea, I'm going to be plain with you. There is no 'force'. You made it all up to make yourself feel better or something. But there was nothing after Jamey, there is nothing after us and there was nothing after our mother!"  
  
Aldrea stared at him, the hurt barely visible in her eyes. "Okay, Tobias. I'm glad we understand each other now then. If you don't want to face the truth, it's not my problem. But when you find yourself facing it, and wishing you had listened to me, you'll be sorry!" With that she stormed out, pissed.  
  
Tobias grinned sheepishly at the onlookers. After a while he got sick of their stares and said, "Fuck off, assholes." It didn't take a rocket scientist to see why the librarian threw him out. 


	7. Chapter 7

A/n: I corrected this chapter! That's a first! Clap for me!  
  
Tobias sighed and pulled the covers over his head. "Mommy." he moaned.  
  
Rilee looked over at him from the top of the book she was reading. "Now I'm your mother, Toby?"  
  
Tobias groaned and turned over. "Oh, just for a moment I thought you were...never mind." He sighed and hit his head on his pillow.  
  
Rilee reached out and patted his head. "It'll be ok. You must be really sick or something. If you need anything just say so, okay hun?" She kissed his forehead.  
  
Tobias didn't answer. He wasn't sleeping though. He was sure that it wasn't just some weird hallucination that he had seen some lady in his chair. And he wasn't sure what had made him call her his 'mommy'. He had never called anyone that in his life. The closest thing he had to a 'mommy' was his first grade teacher of which he had been convinced that by the end of the year she would take him away to be her real son.  
  
But it never happened of coarse. She never really stayed in touch when he graduated to second grade. It had just been a small dream of his. He had never told anyone, not even Aldrea about that dream.  
  
But what had this woman had that he had just KNOWN that she was his mother? 'This is stupid.' He thought to himself. 'This lady isn't even real. Why am I worrying myself over this?'  
  
He heard the door open. "How's he doing?" asked a voice.  
  
"He's sleeping." Rilee answered, talking low so as to not wake him.  
  
Aldrea was silent a moment and Tobias could tell she knew that he wasn't asleep at all. "Hey, Rilee. You need a rest. He's not going to die any time soon. Go out and get something to eat or something."  
  
Tobias heard Rilee stand and waited until her footsteps had faded. Then he started to sit up. But before he had gotten halfway up Aldrea had already pushed him down. "No!" she cried. "Don't sit up."  
  
He clutched his stomach. "Ugh, NOW you tell me. What happened? One moment I'm out on a walk and next moment I'm here. What's wrong?" He watched Aldrea's face sag.  
  
She hid her face in her hands. "Look, you were attacked. I was hoping you would tell me who had assailed you. I was thinking it was-"  
  
"What? You thought it was a 'force'?" Tobias muttered sarcastically. "Look, Aldrea! The force isn't real! Why don't you just face it?! It's something you made up for some weird mutated reason. Probably it was some member of the Hate Tobias Fan Club."  
  
Aldrea frowned uncomfortably. "Why don't you believe me, Tobias?" she asked him softly.  
  
"Because it's impossible. You think it would exist and that Dumbledore wouldn't know about it? It's ridiculous, okay?"  
  
"But Tobias. I thought you had more sense than that." A soft, deep voice uttered near the doorway of the hospital wing.  
  
Aldrea didn't turn around. "I thought Madam Pomprey only lets in one visitor at a time.."  
  
"She wasn't very hard to persuade, you know." Tobias looked at her in the eye. It was Isobel. Her soft, chocolate brown eyes [contacts] had a serious look in them. She walked into the room and the light from the ceiling showed her face clearly. She hadn't applied her make-up. Something was wrong.  
  
"Hey, Isobel." Aldrea said as she smiled and stood. "I was just telling Tobias..uh, what I-"  
  
"What you thought attacked him?" Isobel finished for her.  
  
Aldrea nodded. "You heard?"  
  
Isobel smiled dryly. "Yeah. I did."  
  
"And you don't believe me either, right?"  
  
"Who said I didn't?"  
  
Aldrea looked at her in surprise. "You mean..you believe me?!"  
  
Isobel sighed and nodded slowly. "More than that. I know what you say is true. I've seen it."  
  
"What?" Aldrea cried in alarm. "Are you alright? Did it attack you, too?"  
  
"Yeah," Tobias added, laughing. "ARE you alright? You're starting to sound as crazy as Aldrea!"  
  
"Look, Tobias." Isobel answers in a soft, but firm voice. "I've got no time for this. You were attacked by something not of this place. Not of this world even. It came from Amplis. And it will be back."  
  
Tobias stared at incredulously. "Stop playing her game, Isobel. It's not funny, you know. "  
  
Isobel moved quickly to the side on his bed and knelt down. "Look Tobias. Look into my eyes. Do I see the type to lie just to make people feel better?" She took his hand in her's. "Trust me, Tobias. There IS something after you. Something very powerful. And it'll do anything to prevent its doom. And you two are it!"  
  
Tobias pulled his hand away from her grip. "Stop it, Isobel."  
  
She stood and for a moment just stared at him. "If you will deny your heritage, your powers, your very being, fine. But don't expect anything less than a well earned 'I told you so' when it attacks again."  
  
Then she turned away from Tobias and faced Aldrea. Whoa, was this the same Isobel he had gone to school with?  
  
"You believe me?" Aldrea repeated, quietly. She hadn't expected anyone to actually support her. She wasn't sure if she believed it herself. But this was the proof she had wanted- almost dreaded. That there was something after them. And it wouldn't rest until it destroyed them. "Why?" she whispered, the words hardly escaping her lips.  
  
"Why? Because of the prophecy. The prophecy that states quite clearly that one Kertan will be defeated by a witch. And more than just a witch. They must have an ancestor that was shunned from Amplis and sent here. So I was sent to find such a witch. Because Amplis is in chaos. We will perish if help does not reach us soon."  
  
"So you think it is one of us?" Tobias was stunned that Aldrea understood what Isobel had just said. All in once he thought on how Isobel probably wasn't who she pretended to be.  
  
Isobel shook her head. "No. Your powers are too weak. No offense. They do not surpass mine, even though you have had no training. And you discovered your powers only the year you came to Hogwarts. Those are all clear signs that neither of you can be the one. But there are your children. They are the only things we have left to hope for!  
  
"And that is the reason I had to reject Tobias." Isobel's voice was on the jagged edge of cracking but she took a deep breath and continued. "I could not risk falling in love with him. Because our savior can be only half Amplisian. It must have a parent from here as well. And since I am from Amplis there was- is- no way for us. He has a better chance with.." But she didn't finish her thought. They all remained silent a long time.  
  
Tobias frowned. Could it be that this was more than just a hoax? Could Isobel really have been so strong? So..  
  
No! There was no way that a single word from Isobel's mouth was true. There was one thing about Isobel he had learnt in his time with her. And that was that Isobel was a terrific actress and a greatly advanced spell castor. She could have easily tricked Aldrea. But he wasn't going to be fooled so simply. This was probably an act to get him back.  
  
"So now I'm supposed to say that I'm sorry and you should hug me and everything will be okay. And that we can get through the prophecy and be together? So now I-" That was as far as he got.  
  
Isobel turned and glared at him. He felt his face burn. But he wasn't embarrassed..why-  
  
It wasn't until he felt his whole body get hot that he realized that it was spell that was being cast on him. And now it was starting to hurt. "Ow! Man, stop it!" But her eyes were cold, the exact opposite of how HE was feeling.  
  
He could smell flesh burning. He barely saw his sister put a hand on Isobel's arm. "Stop it!" she was screaming along with him.  
  
Then it stopped. His vision cleared. He looked down at himself. He looked like he had spent a day and a half in the sun. His whole body burned and ached.  
  
Aldrea was next to his bed in an instant. "Tobias? Are you okay?"  
  
Tobias nodded slightly and groaned and how it hurt to do even that. "Yeah-"  
  
"You stupid idiot!" Aldrea interrupted as soon as she was sure he was okay. Well, as okay as he could be. "Didn't you hear her? She has powers beyond ours. She's been hiding them from everyone, but they're there. And there you go, messing with her." "It was a-"  
  
"A joke?!" she cried angrily. "She could have killed you! Did you see her? I couldn't touch her, that's how hot she was. And there was this power, man. I felt it, she's strong. That's why they sent her here. And you there you go and mess with her!"  
  
"You can shut up now!" Tobias answered telepathically. Aldrea glared at him.  
  
"You hurt her, T. She said that she left you because she loved you too much. And you go and fuckin mock her. You stupid, stupid, dude."  
  
"Look, I didn't believe her.." He starts in his head but Aldrea stands up before he can continue.  
  
"No, don't make up excuses. You are heartless and cold. I'm surprised that Rilee can stand you!" And then she wakes off in a huff, leaving Tobias alone with his thoughts.  
  
As soon as he was out of the hospital wing he was pelted with questions.  
  
"What attacked you?"  
  
"I heard it was a student!"  
  
"I heard it was a monster!"  
  
"I heard it was Hagrid's dog!"  
  
"I heard it was Hagrid!"  
  
"I heard it was Draco!"  
  
"I heard it was your ex!"  
  
"Are you ok?"  
  
"Are you dying?"  
  
"Are you really Tobias or are you possessed?"  
  
Some of the questions were so ridiculous he didn't even look at the speaker. Aldrea was pissed at him, as was Bonnie. Isobel was just cold. She didn't give him a single look. Tobias had been all right with it when it first began. And then they had to do a project together. She didn't even look at him. Midway through the class the teacher came over and asked them why they had hardly any work done.  
  
Isobel shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it's hard."  
  
Tobias glares at her. "Well, she won't work together with me."  
  
"Is this true?" The teacher responds, shooting Isobel a look dripping with distain.  
  
"Yes, it is." Isobel answers firmly. "I refuse to work with an idiot like him! I simply refuse to!"  
  
"Then you shall do this after classes, while everyone else is enjoying their time." If the teacher thought this would scare Isobel, he was wrong.  
  
"I'm fine with that. What time?"  
  
The teacher looked surprised. "You would rather do this alone on your own time, then do this now with Tobias?"  
  
"Yes. I refuse to work with him." She repeats.  
  
That whole day, Tobias got even more annoyed as he thought about it. He had ended up working by himself and getting a zero in the teacher's book.  
  
Rilee agreed. "That bitch!" She cried when he told her about what happened. "She's probably just trying to get revenge for when you dumped her."  
  
Tobias didn't add that SHE had broken up with HIM. But it felt good to have Rilee cursing her off.  
  
Tobias had been sitting on the couch, trying to do SOME of this homework to make up for the zero he had gotten. But then Rilee sat next to him and leaned over to kiss him. Answer me this, what normal guy can concentrate on homework when his girlfriend is making out with him? What normal guys WANTS to?  
  
So that's the reason Tobias didn't get much done THAT day.  
  
Aldrea was in the library at that same time, helping Bonnie cheer Isobel up.  
  
"C'mon, Izzy!" Bonnie cries. "He's an asshole for treating you like that! You deserve a lot more than that, you know! He's not worthy enough for a gal like you!"  
  
Aldrea nodded enthusiastically. "I agree. I can't believe he's my brother! He's horrible. How can Rilee stand him?!"  
  
"Rilee is worse, man!" Bonnie whispers. "Know what I'VE heard? That she cheats on people. That she's a two timing slut!"  
  
Isobel sighs. "Look, if you think bad-mouthing Rilee makes me feel better, you're wrong. I don't think Tobias is bad. I kind of regret doing that to him. And Rilee and Tobias are good together. Not because they are both assholes, though." She added, giving Bonnie a look.  
  
Bonnie grinned. "Hey! It's what I heard!"  
  
Aldrea yawned. "We should be getting back. The librarian will kick us out with a broom soon."  
  
So they split up. Aldrea headed into the GCR, Bonnie to the Hufflepuff's common room and Isobel to the bathroom. Aldrea sank into a seat. Soon she closed her eyes and found herself slipping into sleep. When she woke up, the GCR is empty.  
  
She massaged her head quietly. "Ugh, I hate this! I feel achy all over." She started to get up.  
  
Then she saw him. He pushed her back down. "I don't think so, love."  
  
She looked up at the dark figure. "What?" Her eyes grew wide. "NO!"  
  
"What? Didn't you miss me?" He grinned and pulled her up from the chair. Then he leaned over and roughly began to kiss her. Aldrea flailed weakly at him but he grabbed her arms before she could do any real damage.  
  
He pulled off her cloak and shirt and she tried to scream. She pulled her mouth away from his and screamed, "Help m-" That's as far she got before he placed his hand over her mouth.  
  
"No, love. I can't have you doing that, can I?" He leaned forward to kiss her again.  
  
But he got only halfway before she kneed him in the groin. He groaned and moved back.  
  
She tried to run then, but he stood up straight and grabbed her from behind. He pushed her against the nearest wall, causing her head to spin from the impact. "No, precious. You won't be leaving me again!"  
  
She struggled again, but it was soon apparent to her that he wasn't lying. She wasn't going to be escaping his iron grip any time soon. And her attempts to escape were tiring her out. And soon he would finish the plan he had begun before. He would rape her.  
  
"What's going on here?" asked a deep voice from somewhere.  
  
"Help me!" Aldrea tried to say, but her attacker's mouth was pressed hard on her lips.  
  
"Hey!" the deep voice cried. Her attacker swirled around, glaring into the darkness.  
  
"Who are you?" he asked.  
  
Aldrea took his distraction to her advantage. She moved away from him, grabbing her cloak and covering herself with it.  
  
"Hey!" the deep voice repeated. "What are you doing to her?"  
  
"Nothing. Who are you?"  
  
"Is that you, Lee?"  
  
"Clint?"  
  
"What are you doing to her, Lee?"  
  
Lee finally noticed Aldrea was going off. "Aldrea..next time." He hissed in her direction.  
  
Aldrea ran up the stairs, and got into bed and covered herself up in the blanket. But sleep didn't come to her, as she knew it wouldn't. 


	8. Chapter 8

Note:: In the first chapter I put that HP was in the same year as Aldrea and Tobias. Sorry but that's wrong. HP is actually two years younger than them. I will change the first chapter whenever possible. Just wanted to let you know. Peace.  
  
______________________________  
  
Aldrea opened her eyes and smiled as the sun's rays touched her face. Then it all came back to her. She growled in frustration and slammed her face against her pillow. She cursed in a muffled sort of way.  
  
She finally got up and flipped her legs over the edge of her bed and-  
  
"Fuck!" she cursed, as she saw the pile of books tumble over and she moaned. Oh, she did not want to pick up a pile of books, especially since she was already late for breakfast.  
  
After a long time, she reached the Great Hall just as most people were finishing up their breakfast. She went over to Isobel's place in the Slytherin table. She plucked a piece of toast up from Isobel's mostly untouched plate of food. Isobel looked up at her warily.  
  
"Eat." Aldrea commanded Isobel, shoving another piece of toast towards her mouth. "Let's go, I don't want an anorexic friend, okay?"  
  
Isobel looked down at herself and smiled sheepishly, "I do look a bit fat, don't you think?" Aldrea rolled her eyes at the comment. Isobel had a good body, and she knew it. Not that she strutted it...much. She knew how to use her body as an advantage over people and wasn't troubled to use it to get what she wanted.  
  
"Let's move it, Isobel. We have class soon and I want you to eat something before we get there." Aldrea urged. Isobel gave in and nibbled her toast quietly.  
  
Aldrea grinned, proud of herself.  
  
She felt a soft touch by her shoulder. As if someone had wanted to tap her on the shoulder but had thought better of it. They had touched her anyway, and now her attention had been caught.  
  
Aldrea spun around, ready to face Lee Jordan, as she suspected it was.  
Instead she found herself staring into the deepest blue eyes she had seen in her life. They looked quite a bit like Lee's but these were so deep. She felt herself sinking in them, down into a bottomless pit of blue.  
  
"Aldrea, is it?" he asked, in a loud, deep voice. She shook her head, trying to get those strange eyes out of her head. She wasn't ready for love, anyway.  
  
"Yeah," she managed weakly.  
  
"Well," he began, nervously, "are you okay? I mean yesterday-" he faded off, and Aldrea realized where she had seen the figure before. He had been the one to save her from Lee the night before. Clint.  
  
"I'm fine. I can deal. So, you're Clint, right?" she asked, trying to sound casual.  
  
"Are you sure? If you need to talk or something-"  
  
"I'm fine, really. I can deal with Lee Jordan."  
  
"Can you? Like you did last night?" Clint asked, sardonically. Then he stopped and sounded apologetic. "Sorry, I didn't mean that. It just came out. I meant, I mean, I just want you to be all right, okay? You seem like a nice enough girl."  
  
It wasn't much of a compliment, but Aldrea wasn't used to getting compliments in the first place, so she blushed like crazy and tried to hide it behind her hair. But her hair was too thin and she felt embarrassed that he could see that she was uncomfortable. "Thanks."  
  
"Aldrea?" Isobel, her new gray eyes looking at her curiously, took hold of her arm and pulled slightly. "We better be going if you want to get to class on time. I don't think old Snape will be glad to see us late."  
  
Aldrea nodded, disappointed. "Maybe we can talk later!" she cried out to Clint as she was dragged away by Isobel. Clint nodded and then was blocked by the doorway.  
  
"Isobel, what is up your ass?" Aldrea hissed, pissed that Isobel had ruined her conversation with Clint.  
  
"Snape is what is up my ass. He's always on my fucking case. How I should be in some other house and shit. I don't want to give him another excuse to complain about me."  
  
"Oh." Aldrea answered simply. She had thought that maybe Isobel was jealous of the male attention she had been getting. But that had never been Izzy's way. Guys weren't her strong point, no matter what her figure was like.  
  
They barely got to class on time and both Isobel and Aldrea were panting by the time they got to class. They got yelled at for entering the classroom in an improper manner. Ten points off of Gryfindder.  
  
"Jeez!" Rilee muttered. "Just because Aldrea does like to wake up early does mean WE have to suffer for it, do we?"  
  
"Obviously we do," a girl next to her answered. They both snickered. Snape glared at them menacingly. They quieted down.  
  
Lee took out his wand slowly, so that no one would see him do it. He pulled out an extra piece of parchment from under his book. His quill moved quickly until the note was finished. Then he mumbled a spell under his breath and the folded piece of parchment flew straight and true right to Aldrea's desk.  
  
Or it would have if Isobel had not felt it. She had noticed some noises from the back of the room. Her ears were very well toned, unlike most of her other senses. But that was enough. She turned around just in time to the note flying through the air. Isobel growled and snatched the letter in mid-air.  
  
She rolled it up into a ball and shot it into the garbage can. Snape gave her a look and took five points off Gryfinder. Half the class mumbled abuse to Isobel, but she could have cared less. Whatever was in that letter could not have been good. She would never know, but maybe that was a good thing.  
  
Lee glared angrily at Isobel. Okay, she had no right to interfere in Aldrea and his conflicts. This was about him and her, and Isobel better not stick her nose where it didn't fuckin belong because maybe she would find herself holding her nose.  
  
He didn't know that Isobel could probably reach out, block whatever punch he would try on her and break his neck in less than a minute. If she wanted. Luckily for him, he never had a chance to, and unfortunately for her, neither did she.  
  
Aldrea went threw classes in a bubble. All the information was sliding of the bubble, and she was in her own little dream world.  
  
"Miss Chant. Miss Chant! Excuse me, MISS CHANT!"  
  
Isobel elbowed Aldrea hard. Aldrea yelped in surprise and pain. Then she noticed everyone's eyes on her. She blushed and looked down.  
  
"So, what may your answer be, Miss Chant? Or were you suddenly deaf and didn't hear a word I said?" the professor said sarcastically.  
  
"I'll take the last one," Aldrea whispered.  
  
Tobias looked over at Aldrea, raising his eyebrow. Was Aldrea seriously talking back to the teacher? No way. Fuck, what was up her ass? She never did anything wrong in class, if she could help it. She knew that she needed good grades to get a job. Because Aunt Jane wasn't going to support them any more than she had to.  
  
"Miss Chant? I will not allow any that attitude in here from you, understand? Unless you wish to see me after class."  
  
"Well, then, FUCK YOU!" Aldrea yelled, jumping up from her seat. She snatched up her bag and her papers. Then, after sticking out the middle finger at the professor, she ran out the door and the surprised students could no longer see her.  
  
Tobias stood up, gave the professor an apologetic grin before he ran after her.  
Isobel was getting up, as well when she caught Rilee's glare. It was as if Rilee was daring her to get up. Oh yeah, Isobel thought, narrowing her eyes angrily, I'll take up that challenge, bitch.  
  
She stayed in her seat, until it went through her head that Aldrea was her FRIEND, and that following her would have nothing to do with Tobias OR Rilee. Oh, yeah. Oops. Then she sprinted through the door, before anyone would know she had even hesitated.  
  
She found Tobias standing in front of the bathroom door, staring it down. Isobel stood before the door, staring at HIM. Finally he glanced over at her. She had her hands on her hips as if waiting for him to speak. But it was she who spoke.  
  
"So, what are you waiting for?" She asked crossly.  
  
"Uh, as if you haven't noticed, this is a GIRLS' bathroom," he said as if that cleared up everything.  
  
"Uh, as if you haven't noticed, Aldrea is YOUR sister!" Isobel retorted. "Jeez, it's good to know that you care much about your sister." With that she turned and walked in, not even giving him a livid glance.  
  
Tobias sighed and resolutely set off toward the door. As soon he walked through the door, he heard the soft voices muffled and low.  
  
As he went closer to the last stall he was able to pick out their voices. "Come on, Aldy." Isobel was saying.  
  
"No. I can't go BACK. I mean, I just made a fool out of myself." Aldrea was repeating.  
  
"So what? It's not like you should care what Snape thinks anyway!" Isobel answered back, irritately.  
  
"He can FAIL me, Izzy. Then what? I can't have that. Me and Tobias won't survive. Aunt Jane will let us go as soon as we turn eighteen. Not good for us, though it is very good for her."  
  
"I know, isn't it?" Tobias said, breaking into their conversation. Both girls turned to stare at him. He blushed slightly and crossed his arms.  
  
"Tobias!" Aldrea cried in surprised. "This is GIRLS' room!"  
  
"Actually, it isn't so much a girls' room, as it is out of order. That's pretty much the only reason I-"  
  
"Oooooooh! Visitors!" cried a voice, as a white figure swooped down from somehwhere in the ceiling. "I haven't had many since Harry and his friends stopped coming. It's dreeeeeeeadfully lonely here, all by myself. Of coarse, no one cares about little old me." She throws herself on the floor. "Oh woe, woe, woe is meeeeeee."  
  
Aldrea gave her a small look, and not for very long. But Myrtle saw it. "Oooooooh! You dreadful thing! You have no feelings. Just because I AM a ghost, does not mean I am blind!" She ducked behind a stall door. A second later she peaked out, so only her eyes could be seen.  
  
"What's YOUR name?" she asked shyly, staring at Tobias. Tobias blushed slightly and muttered, "Tobias."  
  
"Tobias.What a-"  
  
"We should be getting back to class, don't you think?" Aldrea asked loudly, interrupting Myrtle's answer. A growl was heard from the stall and Myrtle's eyes disappeared.  
  
Isobel took this opportunity to drag both Tobias and Aldrea out of the bathroom. "Jeez. Remind me never to go in THAT bathroom again." 


End file.
